Great Crested Grebes...February 2020

That time of the year had arrived when I look forward to catching up with the Great Crested Grebes at a local Nature Reserve.About now they begin their elaborate courtship and mating rituals and can make for some interesting images.The weather recently has been awful with constant rain and gales.Despite this I decided on a visit to the location.The weather was still very disturbed with frequent wintry showers and a strong wind.I was able to find some shelter and made a couple of afternoon visits to the site.

It was nice to find a pair of grebes present and I managed a few shots of them displaying.What was also very good was one of the grebes catching a nice sized perch which it took time to turn head first before swallowing.I have shown this sequence of shots in images 10-13.The robins at the site were also in fine form looking for handouts from passers by and made for a nice image.I also got nice images of a tufted duck showing off his splendid plumage and the ever present mute swans were also begging for food.A perched cormorant also made for a nice portrait shot.The final images are of blackthorn and primroses in bloom some of the first flowers to bloom.

Thanks for looking in and hope you enjoy the images below.

I will be back next month with more from my travels.

Egrets...Mere Sands Wood

The weather is still very disturbed following Storm Dennis which left many parts of the country suffering from severe flooding.Lancashire escaped the worst of the weather although there has been a lot of rain and the ground is saturated.Today the sun is shining which is a rare treat although the wind is still very strong.There may be more rain on the way!!!

Despite the bad weather I did manage to get out with the camera and I visited Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve where I hadn't been for some time.It was nice to enjoy the comfort of the hides sheltered from the strong and cold winds.I was hoping for some action from the grebes at the Cyril Gibbons hide but there was only one bird present.There were ducks present and I enjoyed taking images of gadwall,goosanders and shovelers which can be seen below.The highlight of the day however was the presence at the Rufford hide of a great white egret.

I spent the rest of my time photographing the great white and a little egret.Both egrets were very active and were catching mostly small fish.It was good to compare these two egrets and particularly the size which is shown well in the first image.It was nice to spend time with this uncommon visitor to Mere Sands Wood and I hope it stays around for more people to enjoy.I left in more unpleasant wet and windy weather.Thanks for looking in and I will be back soon and hopefully so will better weather.

Snowdrops..Dippers and a Barn Owl

The weather recently has been very much up and down with little settled weather.There have been one or two drier and settled days and I have managed to get out with the camera.I decided to visit the Brock Valley where I hadn't been for a few years to see if I could catch up with some dippers.I began at the car park feeding station where there was plenty of action from the usuals.I have shown a very colourful male pheasant and a nuthatch of which there were numerous.

I then went for a walk downstream to try and find some dippers.No luck with the dippers but the snowdrops were in abundance and were a good sign that Spring was not too far away.What was nice however was a grey wagtail which showed nicely on the riverside rocks.I then went to another stretch of  the River Wyre near Scorton where there was a good chance of dippers.This move paid off and I managed some nice images of this super little bird actively looking for food and providing nice opportunities for the camera.

The last venue of the day was the barn owl location that I have visited many times through the winter months.This visit coincided with some wonderful late afternoon sunshine providing the golden light favoured by photographers.Both barn owls were out hunting and I was able to obtain some very nice images of the owls hunting and posing on perches which I had provided some time ago.It was a wonderful conclusion to an interesting day out and one were I achieved my objective of images of the dippers.Hope you enjoy the images and hopefully I will be back when the latest storm Dennis makes way for some better weather.